St. Michael-Albertville Girls Soccer State Tournament Bound
It took a shootout, but the Knights girls' soccer team erased last year's nightmare and advanced to the Class 2A dance.
Who cares if you can't seem to "buy a goal," even when you have a couple of clear breakaways.
It really doesn't seem to matter when you have MiCale Jensen between the pipes.
Jensen came up huge Tuesday night in the Section 8-2A final, making two saves in the shootout as St. Michael-Albertville topped Anoka to make it to the state tournament.
"She's [MiCale] just steady. She's been a starter for so long, and she knows what she has to do for our defense back there. To have that on the field is what you need," said head coach Megan Johnson prior to the end of the regular season.
Her teammates call her "Mick," and she came up big again and again Tuesday night, stopping a high breakaway shot in the second half and keeping Anoka out of the nets.
It was pure redemption for the Knights, who fell 2-1 at Anoka last year after leading 1-0 at halftime.
"They're a well-coached team, and they're always going to be there," said Johnson of Anoka.
STMA finished the season 14-1-3, its lone loss a 1-0 loss to Buffalo.
The Knights defense has allowed no more than one goal in a single game all season, and four of the last five games for Jensen have been shutouts.
The Class 2A tournament field will be seeded by the Minnesota State High School League later this week. Games begin next week at a neutral site, to be determined.
The semifinal games are set for Oct. 29 at Metrodome/Mall of America Field. The state championship game is set for 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1.
Mary Poss
8:12 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
This is the second time that you have stated that the defense has been totally revamped with "no returning starters". Senior defenseman, Taylor Poss, was a starter all of last season with the exception of the first couple of games. She has worked hard to earn her position on the team and I'm sure would appreciate some credit for it.
Melissa
10:26 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Mary,
This type of thing has happened before, and I don't believe is the Patch's fault, I see misinformation like this in the Crow River news too.
Mike Schoemer
9:00 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Mary, my apologies. I'll ask Coach Megan a follow up question about that.
Sean Riley
10:16 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Great to see another STMA team make it to state.
Congrats, and good luck.
Melissa
10:22 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Also isn't Brianna Hoffman on defense from last year as well?
Mike Schoemer
10:23 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wasn't a starter. Perhaps that was the coaches' point.
Melissa
10:39 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
I was at nearly every game last season and I think she started every one....Maybe my memory is failing me...
Mike Schoemer
11:18 am on Thursday, October 18, 2012
The story has been corrected to remove any mention of the "rebuilt" defense. St. Michael Patch regrets any errors and confusion they might have caused. Congrats to the team.
jeff stancer
8:54 am on Saturday, October 20, 2012
last I checked Jordyn Walker is a 10th grader. Roster has her as an 11th grader.
grampa
Rich Jensen
8:46 am on Monday, October 22, 2012
As with all team sports, the reason the girls have had success is that they play together well as a team. MiCale trusts the girls in front of her to do thier job on defense and offense and they trust her to do what she does. It's on to Wayzata at St Cloud State and they will have to play as a team to have a chance against the heavily favored Trojans. GO KNIGHTS!!